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1. Field
The field relates to computer systems and more particularly to managing the thermal operation of computer systems.
2. Description of the Related Art
Personal computer systems in general and IBM compatible personal computer systems in particular have attained widespread use. These personal computer systems now provide computing power to many segments of today""s modern society. A personal computer system can usually be defined as a desktop, floor-standing, or portable microcomputer that includes a system unit having a system processor with associated volatile and non-volatile memory, a display monitor, a keyboard, a hard disk storage device or other type of storage media such as a floppy disk drive or a compact disk read only memory (CD ROM) drive. One of the distinguishing characteristics of these systems is the use of a system board or motherboard to electrically connect these components together. These personal computer systems are information handling systems which are designed primarily to give independent computing power to a single user or group of users and are inexpensively priced for purchase by individuals or small businesses.
Portable computers are often referred to as laptop, notebook or subnotebook computers. These computers typically incorporate a flat panel display such as a liquid crystal display (LCD) or other relatively small display. One challenge associated with computer systems in general and portable computer systems specifically is controlling the heat that is generated by the system. Because computer systems have a number of heat generating components, such as the processor, it is important to determine when the heat of the system is past a certain predetermined threshold. More specifically, component temperature data that is acquired for thermal management is provided as a digital integer in one degree Celsius increments. The current accuracy of the component temperature data is plus or minus three degrees. In known systems, a go/no-go trip point is provided. This trip point is often conservatively estimated below the point of permanent damage to the computer system because of the inaccuracy of the device providing the component temperature data. More importantly, from the user""s viewpoint, no warning is given before the computer is shut down, potentially causing loss of data.
It has been discovered that a thermal management of a computer system may be advantageously obtained by predicting temperature variations based upon past temperature readings. Such a system may, in preferred embodiments, filter the past temperature data to provide a more precise value, allow for a floating trip level that changes with the rate of temperature change and even allow for prediction of the amount of time left before a system shutdown may occur.
More specifically, in one aspect, a method for managing thermal operation of a device is set forth. The method includes obtaining a first temperature value for the device; obtaining a second temperature value for the device, the obtaining the second temperature value being separated from the obtaining the first temperature value by an amount of time; calculating a difference between the first and second temperature values; and, calculating a rate of temperature change based upon the difference between the first temperature and second temperature values divided by the amount of time.
In another aspect, a thermal management system which includes a temperature sensor and a slope calculation module is set forth. The temperature sensor senses a first temperature value and a second temperature value. The first temperature value and the second temperature value are separated by an amount of time. The slope calculation module calculates a rate of temperature change based upon a temperature difference between the first temperature value and the second temperature value divided by the amount of time.
In another aspect, a computer system which includes a processor, a memory coupled to the processor, a temperature sensor coupled to the processor, and a thermal management system is set forth. The temperature sensor senses a first temperature value and a second temperature value. The first temperature value and the second temperature value are separated by an amount of time. The thermal management system is stored on the memory. The thermal management system includes a slope calculation module which calculates a rate of temperature change based upon a temperature difference between the first temperature value and the second temperature value divided by the amount of time.